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About four years ago I hosted one of our annual Mom’s Who Needs Wine Evenings. One of the ladies was pregnant so for her I filled a lovely jug with spring water and added cucumber and fresh mint. She loved it so much that when we went camping together that summer it was all she drank! We experimented more in summer with fruit and the kids loved it.

I try to encourage the kids to drink lots of water during the day. We don’t drink much juice here and rarely pop so infusing their water with good stuff encourages them to keep at it, and eat the good stuff!

There are so many combinations of infused waters the variations are endless. Put out a variety of ingredients and let the kids make up their own. It will encourage family bonding time and them to drink the water. We made three infused waters for these photos and re-used water bottles from a local juice store. Mason jars or any other easy to carry and pretty jar with a lid would also be ideal.

My kid watches me in the kitchen and has been doing so since she was little. She’s 9, almost 10 going on 14. She’s a true Leo as she was so stubborn during her birth, that after 64 hours of labour, she ended up being escorted out of my belly via emergency C-section. She brings this stubbornness into the kitchen when she bakes. Always wanting to race ahead, and do things her way without reading instructions properly or sitting back to listen & learn. I do love this about her, but it can be challenging.

A couple weeks ago I gave my kids a chicken challenge. Cook any kind of (simple) chicken dish you wanted for supper. Think about it, go through recipe books, or make up a recipe. Hailey’s first idea was to make up a watermelon marinade for the chicken. Since we don’t care for grilled watermelon, and watermelon logged chicken didn’t seem to appeal, I talked her out of it (maybe a mistake?). I could have googled ideas, but I wanted this to be hers. So I suggested she think up something different. She decided on this citrus chicken. Created it entirely on her own. I directed her to the fresh herbs, she smelled & tasted and decided which she wanted to add to the marinade. She loves grilled halloom cheese (from Superstore) and knew she wanted grilled this cheese as part of her meal (she calls it the squeaky cheese), with the grilled chicken placed on top. And her favourite Tabbouleh Salad. I helped with suggesting grilled lemon or lime on top. Her dad did all the grilling.

For the first time we worked together in the kitchen (I helped with the chopping) without any battles. It was flawless and so much fun to watch her follow her vision. And she did an amazing job. While it may not happen again anytime soon, this mom is super proud.

To assemble plate place a little salad on bottom of plate in a circle. Add a slice of grilled halloom cheese. Top with a piece of grilled chicken and if using, grilled lemons or limes.

I’ve been following the Creole Cajun Chef Tommy for quite some time on social media. His photos and recipes caught my eye immediately and kept it intrigued. My husband and I went to New Orleans for our honeymoon pre Katrina and had the time of our life. New Orleans and the people will always hold a soft spot in our hearts. The food, well, it speaks for itself.

I’m sure you can’t hear me drooling while I write this post. I love shrimp. I was raised near the coast of Northern British Columbia (NBC) and we regularly went crabbing off the docks near Prince Rupert and enjoyed many a freshly caught prawns, meal. Head on, tails on, All in.

I was very honoured when Chef Tommy agreed to do a Guest Post on my blog. I love how easy his recipe for BBQ shrimp is, yet sounds like it packs an incredible amount of flavour! Pleased to welcome, Chef Tommy!

Tommy Centola, the Creole Cajun Chef, is a New Orleans native who has been cooking since he was eight. Having learned the basics from his mentor, his mom, Tommy is a self taught chef, cooking New Orleans multicultural cuisine. He has worked in numerous restaurants, developing dishes and menus with his unique vision. His Crabcake recipe has been featured in the Thomas Kinkade cookbook and Louisiana Cookin’ magazine. His cookbook, You Can’t Keep New Orleans Out Of The Cook, has been enshrined in the Culinary Hall of Fame. With over 300 recipes, Tommy’s blog, www.creolecajunchef.com, is continually growing with two new recipes added each week. He and his wife Peggy currently live in Searcy, Arkansas. He works for Sysco foods, helping his customers have successful businesses.

From Tommy: This is one of my wife’s favorite dishes. Every time we come back from New Orleans, we always have three pounds of large heads-on shrimp to cook for dinner the night we get home. BBQ Shrimp is not shrimp that are cooked on a pit and covered with sauce. They are cooked in a highly seasoned, not spicy, combination of olive oil and butter. Make sure you have plenty of French bread to dip into the sauce. You can use headless shrimp, but you will not get the flavors that are released from the head.

We barbequed this lovely whole salmon fillet about a month ago…inspired by a recent trip to Northern British Columbia. The flavours are simple but tasty. Salmon is really easy to cook. Remember to buy your salmon fresh…it should not smell fishy. I’m slowly teaching my husband and kids to smell the fish before they buy it. If it smells fishy after you’ve cooked it, then you’ve cooked it to long.

This salmon dish falls under the simple category and is a modified version of a salmon dish my mom used to make wrapped in parchment and baked in the oven. Deep seeded inspiration I think.

To serve this salmon I topped it with a cool, fresh Cucumber Salad, omitting the onions with the hopes the kids would be more inclined to eat the salad – they weren’t, but we keep trying. A sprinkling of chili flakes finished it off. The kids do enjoy salmon and I liken that to our eating fish regularly.

You can choose to serve your salmon with a salad on top or as is. Either way is equally satisfying. If you can’t find pancetta you can use regular bacon. Very simple flavours.

When I first stated making this recipe, my young daughter (not quite 1 at the time) had recently really taken a liking to salsa. She loved to pick the chunks of onion, peppers and tomatoes out and eat them. Knowing how much kids change their eating patterns over the years, I knew the love for salsa might not last. And just as I had assumed, she went through a phase of dipping her quesadillas & other foods in salsa and then no salsa for me mom. Enter the sour cream phase ha ha. Now at 9 years old she is back to liking salsa again…as long as it’s not to spicy.

Back when she was little we made experimented with salsa baked beans and it was an instant hit. It became a summer regular and family favourite (minus the boy – to this day he still does not like beans). You can also change up this recipe to suit your tastes. Make & use your own baked beans. Buy different flavours of both baked beans and salsa’s to experiment. Use orange juice instead of lemon.

This is a great dish to take camping. You can open your canned beans, pour them into a plastic container with a lid, add all ingredients & store in cooler/fridge until ready to warm up. Bring a bag of nachos & the rest of the salsa will be gone in no time.

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Join me on my adventures both in and out of the kitchen! We travel in search of new experiences, go on adventures both near and far and cook in the kitchen creating new recipes, re-create recipes from previous generations, and seek out crazy food combinations yet sticking true to comfort food and simple recipes.